Caleb Williams' Fiery NFL Combine Interview With Bears Resurfaces

The 2024 NFL draft carried very little suspense into the opening night. The Chicago Bears held the first overall pick thanks to a shrewd deal with the Carolina Panthers a year earlier, and, following a trade of Justin Fields to the Steelers, they needed a quarterback. Luckily, the 2024 quarterback class featured one prospect who stood head and shoulders above the others: USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Some analysts and fans floated the possibility of the Bears drafting a different quarterback, but that was likely the result of draft fatigue. Williams had been the consensus No. 1 prospect for the 2024 NFL draft since winning the 2022 Heisman trophy, and people inevitably get tired of churning out the exact same mock draft or projection.

The Bears were probably about 99% certain that they would be drafting Caleb Williams before they ever even spoke to him, but his interview with them at the NFL Combine that year had to have been the final 1% needed to feel comfortable ignoring the rest of the field. The Bears shared a snippet of that interview on their social media accounts on Friday, and hearing Williams talk about his leadership style will get Bears fans pumped up.

.@CALEBcsw is a fierce competitor indeed 😤 pic.twitter.com/5ZoFFt6jUi
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) February 20, 2026

"I think I'm a fierce competitor," Williams said. "I hate losing, and so I think the guys can feel that when I speak in practice, when I speak to them, how I play, how I work out."

Williams also spoke about the way he cares for his teammates when describing his leadership style, but once he got going on his competitive spirit, you can see and hear the change that came over him. He even had to pause for breath first because it's such a passionate subject for him. 'I hate losing' was not a platitude. The Bears, and anyone watching that clip, can see that he truly does hate to lose, and we've seen that proven on the field.

Caleb Williams' competitive spirit mirrors the all-time greats

That hatred of losing is what drives Williams to be great, and it's something he has in common with some of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. When you think of names like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady, you conjure up images of these quarterbacks furiously berating their teammates on the sidelines if they're losing an important game.

In the Bears' miraculous Wild Card win over the Packers, a clip began circulating on social media at halftime showing Williams appearing to scream 'do your [blank] jobs' after another punt. One USC fan account on X noted that the clip evoked an interview with Tom Brady, in which the seven-time Super Bowl champion described how anger in a game fueled him to win, and how Williams appears to share this mindset.

The way both Caleb Williams and Tom Brady respond to adversity is next level.

🎥: TT buikiohiwkv pic.twitter.com/XRqiVonHKl
— Trojan Football ✌️ ᶠᵃⁿ (@TrojanFBx) January 14, 2026

The Bottom Line

After two full NFL seasons, it's become abundantly clear that the Bears made the right pick in the 2024 NFL draft. I'll take it even one step further and defend general manager Ryan Poles' decision to more or less ignore the other top quarterback prospects. Jayden Daniels had a great rookie season but regressed hard in 2025. Drake Maye was nearly the 2025 NFL MVP, but put on the worst playoff run by cumulative EPA in NFL history.

Of those three, only Caleb Williams has shown both a fierce commitment to winning, and that 'it' factor that helps him snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It's no accident that the Bears set an NFL record for fourth-quarter comebacks in the 2025 NFL season, and that clutch gene is part of the reason why Williams has rocketed ahead of his division rivals in the 2025 quarterback rankings.

And here's the best part for Bears fans: Caleb Williams is just getting started. The future of the NFL's flagship franchise is bright indeed.